Fort Davis Rocks passes half-way mark!

January 5, 2014

Rock House Fire (Marfa)

The Marfa Rock House Fire started in the middle of the afternoon on April 9, 2011. Winds up to 30 mph from the south blew the fire north towards Fort Davis. This fire is the beginning and ending of Fort Davis Rocks. I have been researching this fire today to fit my fictional story into the real story. A few months after the fire, Fort Davis resident and the owner of the coolest hotel in Texas Randall Kinzie took me on a tour of the path of the fire into the city and described what it was like. Marfa Public Radio has a thirty minute recording of their reporting of the story. The fire ultimately burned 25 houses in the area and 314,000 acres of land over 23 days.

I only need one chapter of the fire, but I must get it right. I can see that I am going to have to make another trip to Fort Davis to talk to people about their experience (I love visiting Fort Davis!). The what happened is easy to find; what it felt like is much harder. If it doesn’t seem authentic, the novel is doomed.